Biography

Rarely lacking in confidence, Wilson began appearing on stage in her hometown of Houston when she was just 5 years old. After studying acting at New York University, she landed bits on both the big and small screens and made the most of her limited camera time. (She was particularly memorable as an aimless Army recruit in the 1996 feature Lone Star.) But theater offered her the meatiest roles and she consistently earned accolades for her work in both musicals and dramas. In 2005, after spending three decades in the ranks of working no-name actors, Wilson snagged the career-making part of stern senior resident Miranda Bailey (nicknamed "the Nazi") on the medical dramedy Grey's Anatomy, earning multiple Emmy nods for her stellar work. Although the schedule for Grey's Anatomy was demanding, Wilson managed to find time to star in the 2008 Hallmark Channel film Accidental Friendship (which earned her yet another Emmy nomination) as well as return to the Broadway stage in 2009 in the role of Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago.

Fast Facts

Started acting in productions with Houston's Theatre Under the Stars at age 5.

Named one of Eight to Watch, Onstage and Behind the Scenes by the New York Times in 2004 for her role in Broadway's Caroline, or Change.

Received the 2005 Rising Star Award from the Ensemble Theatre in Houston.

Admitted to USA Today in 2006 that she's a serious soap-opera fan.

Was named spokesperson in 2009 for the Downy Touch of Comfort campaign, which delivers handmade quilts to kids in Children's Miracle Network hospitals.